1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to wireless communications. More particularly, the present invention relates to a power control system for a multi-carrier base station transmitter, having a correlating power detection system for individually controlling the power levels of an arbitrary number of RF carriers.
2. Discussion of the Related Art
Wireless communication systems require the coordination of a number of devices such as base stations, controllers, and mobile subscriber equipment. Base stations generally function as an interface between the subscriber equipment and the controllers in a given network. Therefore, the typical base station must both transmit and receive RF signals to and from the other components of the network.
A particularly challenging requirement of base station transmitters is power control. For example, in a spread spectrum protocol such as CDMA, a given multi-carrier signal will contain information that is simultaneously transmitted to subscribers that are both near and far away from the transmitter. In order to avoid significant interference problems throughout the entire coverage area, it is crucial that the power control system be able to set the power levels of the individual RF carriers to a high level of precision. This requirement is primarily due to multi-path effects and is well documented in the industry. Conventional systems, however, either have inadequate individual power control, or use elaborate dedicated systems for each RF carrier. It is easy to understand that the complicated nature of the dedicated systems approach significantly increases the costs of the power control system as well as the overall transmitter. It is therefore desirable to provide a power control system for a base station transmitter that uses a shared system to control the power level of individual RF carriers in a multi-carrier system.
Another concern regarding conventional power control systems is saturation. Generally, a typical power control system will have a multi-channel power amplifier that amplifies a summation of the individual RF carrier signals before transmission. Each RF carrier signal will have a distinct frequency. The resulting plurality of frequencies in the multi-carrier signal leads to distortion and an increase in the overall power encountered by the multi-channel power amplifier. If the power levels of the individual carriers are not tightly controlled, the multi-channel power amplifier can be driven into saturation. The result can be a significant degradation in the received signal.
Conventional systems also fail to adequately address the fact that the temperature of the power detection system is also directly related to the ability to control the transmitted power. For example, if an I/Q detector is used to generate an in phase power signal and a quadrature signal, the mixing components of the I/Q detector are slightly temperature dependent. The result may lead to inaccurate power measurement and therefore, inaccurate power control. It is therefore highly desirable to provide a power control system that does not result in saturation, and is able to account for system temperature fluctuations.
The above and other objectives are achieved by an analog-based power control system for a multi-carrier base station transmitter in accordance with the present invention. The power control system has a multi-channel amplification system for converting a plurality of analog input signals into a plurality of amplified carrier signals. The amplification system also generates a plurality of reference signals corresponding to the amplified carrier signals. Furthermore, the amplification system generates a multi-carrier signal and samples the multi-carrier signal, where the multi-carrier signal includes a summation of the amplified carrier signals. A correlating power detection system is connected to the amplification system, and generates total power control signals based on the reference signals and the sampled multi-carrier signal. The control system further includes an adjustment module connected to the amplification system and the power detection system. The adjustment module controls amplification of the carrier signals based on the total power control signals.
Further in accordance with the present invention, a digital-based power control system is provided. The power control system includes a multi-channel conversion system, a correlating power detection system, and a feedback conversion module. The multi-channel conversion system generates a plurality of analog reference signals corresponding to a plurality of digital input signals. The multi-channel conversion system also generates an analog multi-carrier signal and samples the multi-carrier signal, where the multi-carrier signal represents a summed amplification of the digital input signals. The correlating power detection system is connected to the multi-channel conversion system and generates digital total power control signals based on the analog reference signals and the analog sampled multi-carrier signal. The feedback conversion module is connected to the multi-channel conversion system and the correlating power detection system and individually controls amplification of the digital input signals based on the total power control signals.